A Valentine's Menu You Will Crave All Year

I'm back with more Valentine's Menu inspiration for the perfect date night in!

This mini blog series comes from years of V-Day's spent at our kitchen table because that's the food we love the most. We enjoy a lengthy, relaxed meal at a restaurant as much as the next couple (these days, it's a very rare occasion) but an intimate dinner that you've cooked together and eat by candlelight without any interruptions is definitely something to try if you're used to going out on Valentine's Day.

Believe it or not, Ryan actually put this menu together! I had planned to share Buccatini with Mussels, which is so. freaking. good. (and sexy) but with my recent discovery that I may need to go gluten-free (and possibly cut all grains, but that's a post for another day) I had to switch things up at the last minute. I asked Ryan, "What's Italian-ish but doesn't involve pasta?" It was early so I wasn't thinking on my feet at that point. He quickly answered with his favorite meal, Chicken Paillard. It was an easy sell because it's one of my favorites, too! I have no idea if this is actually Italian (the name suggests it's French) but we're rolling with it anyway.

Chicken Paillard was introduced to us in Tyler Florence's book, Dinner at My Place. No need to mess with perfection, so click through HERE for his exact recipe! The only thing I do differently sometimes is swapping out the anchovies for 2 Tsp of worschestershire sauce plus a pinch of salt (simply because I don't typically have anchovies on hand and you can't get them at Aldi). I made it gluten free this time by using almond flour instead of regular flour and crushed rice chex instead of Panko in the breading.

We make this a LOT and I know that after you have it on Valentine's Day, you'll be excited to cook it whenever you have a little more time to dedicate to meal prep. I certainly do. The best thing about the chicken recipe is that you can easily cut the chicken into slivers and cook them the same way for kiddos as you do the adult version and you'll have chicken fingers without any weird ingredients!

Do you ever find yourself accidentally talking all about the kids on date night? That totally just happened. Sorry!

A little tip: it might be a good idea to divide and conquer the first steps of this one. I'd suggest printing two paper copies of the recipe--one for each of you. One of you can work on the dressing while the other is at the breading station with the chicken.

The Pot de Creme recipe is similar in that I make it a lot (well, I did until we started our recent diet to get ready for a trip to Miami). I found this recipe several years ago on Pioneer Woman's blog and it doesn't need any adjustments, as it's perfect just the way it is. I halved the recipe and split it between two glasses for Ryan and I.

I especially love Pots de Creme because it is perfect to bring to a friend's house or serve while entertaining at home. To bring it along, simply make everything in the blender at home and pour it into a large mason jar or covered glass measuring cup, then transfer it into your friend's coffee mugs and stick them in the freezer as soon as you get there. That way you don't have to travel with a bunch of glassware (and they can stick the cups in the dishwasher when you're done)!

This dessert does take a while to chill. Pioneer Woman recommends 4 hours. So, here's what I would do: make it in the morning before work or on your lunch break, if you can swing it. It takes like 5 minutes. Then, put it in the fridge in an inconspicuous spot, hidden behind a bunch of stuff. Surprise your husband with it after you've eaten your dinner! You could even present it to him along with some kind of date night present, like a new movie to watch together, or... you know... something in a little pink bag.

For a special occasion, these are really sweet served in cocktail glasses!